---
title: "APEN: Engaging and Retaining New Donors"
description: With a grant from Progressive Multiplier, APEN launched a project to form a relationship with the “surge” donors by increasing engagement through email, SMS, social media, and one-on-one touches.
---

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# [APEN: Engaging and Retaining New Donors](https://progressivemultiplier.fund/partner-projects/apen)

 Written by [Progressive Multiplier](https://progressivemultiplier.fund/partner-projects/author/admin) | Aug 11, 2023 4:36:35 PM

[The Asian Pacific Environmental Network (APEN) ](https://apen4ej.org/)is an environmental justice organization deeply rooted in California’s Asian immigrant and refugee communities. During the surge in anti-Asian racism in 2021, APEN was one of the first organizations to organize a response, increasing its presence in the news and social media. As a result, they experienced a large influx of donors demonstrating their support for the Asian American community. While these donors did not necessarily have a strong tie to APEN’s work in environmental justice, pollution, or housing, the team wanted to retain some of the names they acquired.

With a grant from Progressive Multiplier, APEN launched a project to form a relationship with the “surge” donors by increasing engagement through email, SMS, social media, and one-on-one touches. They also used this opportunity to test different messages that could be used both for this new donor cohort and their base — making progress toward a long-term goal of growth in individual fundraising. 

Their engagement plan worked: increased volume and variety in communications yielded a strong response. While messaging around issues that were core to their mission, such as fossil fuels and refineries, were appealing to lapsed or long-term donors, messages around breaking news resonated more with the group of “surge” donors. 

Eleven percent of the 2,100 surge donors gave to APEN a second time. Of that group, half made three or more gifts. With these efforts, APEN nearly doubled its donor list, which will have a transformative impact on its revenue for years. 

When they employed the same high-touch tactics with lapsed donors, they had even better results: They brought back more than 60 individuals, and even more significantly, their average gift was over $300 – nine times the size of the average gift of surge donors. 

*For over two decades, APEN has been building the power of Asian immigrant and refugee communities on the frontlines of fighting big polluters. With that belief that all people have a right to a clean and healthy environment in which their communities can live, work, learn, play, and thrive, APEN brings together a collective voice to develop an alternative agenda for environmental, social and economic justice. *

[View full post](https://progressivemultiplier.fund/partner-projects/apen)

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